At Long Last
by BananaLollypop
Summary: In which the twins turn two and their birthday party is a little more eventful than planned... Part 26 in my 'What if... Enjolnine' series! R&R appreciated as much as Samantha Barks in Chicago singing All That Jazz!


**AN: **Bonjour, mes amis! As promised, I am continuing with these one-shots, seeing as you all seem to love them so much! To all of you who have reviewed/favourited/followed the extended edition so far, I am immensely grateful to you all and you make me one happy author! Your reviews make my day and I love you all! If you haven't checked out the extended edition yet, WHY ON EARTH NOT?! What's not to love about brand-new chapters and little extra details? And, on top of all that, I actually prof read it! You guys should feel loved, that's all I'm saying.

So, here's the next installment with the prompt: What if Thénardier and the Patron-Minette finallygot what was coming to them? Enjoy!

* * *

It was a few months after their wedding when anything even remotely exciting happened in Éponine and Enjolras' lives. It was the twins' second birthday, an amazing event in itself, but, this time, the Amis were making the most of the summer sunshine, and the birthday party for the little girls involved a walk to the park and a picnic.

It was a truly picturesque sight; Éponine and Enjolras lounging together on a blanket, his arm around her as she told everyone a story that had them all in fits of laughter. Evette, who had quite mastered the skill of speech (prompting Grantaire to constantly remind everyone how much she was like her father), was chattering away to Combeferre, who was humouring the little girl by hanging on to her every word. Elyse on the other hand was much more active, and was clinging onto Marius' hands for dear life as she jumped up and down excitedly. The sun was shining and the park was full of families and couples going for walks together, though Éponine, Enjolras and the Amis had managed to find a secluded spot by some trees.

Their day was going perfectly... but, the group being who they were, the peacefulness didn't last long.

"Well, well, well," a sneering voice came up behind Éponine, "Isn't this a nice family outing! Did you not think to ask your parents along, 'Ponine?" Éponine whipped around, immediately positioning herself between Evette and Thénardier, who was backed by six of his gang.

"Long time no see, Papa," Éponine replied coldly, "I see you still can't go around without the support of your idiotic followers. You'd think they'd all have gotten themselves killed due to their stupidity by now, wouldn't you?" One of the men behind Thénardier snarled, stepping forward, but Éponine's father held his arm out to stop him.

"We've got a score to settle, Éponine," he said.

"You've already beaten me within an inch of my life!" Éponine exclaimed, "What else do you need to settle whatever this score is?!"

"Well, your precious children seem to be an adequate price for you abandoning your family." Before Éponine could say anything along the lines of 'you'll take them over my dead body', Combeferre, Grantaire and Marius had positioned themselves in front of her.

"You'll have to get through us first," Marius said immediately. At this, Thénardier and his cronies all burst out laughing, providing the perfect distraction for Enjolras and Courfeyrac to get away.

"Where are my weapons?" Enjolras asked his friend as soon as they were far enough away. Courfeyrac's face lit up.

"Enjolras, you genius," Courfeyrac exclaimed, "They're this way. Come on, we need to hurry." He didn't need to tell Enjolras that twice.

* * *

Meanwhile, Thénardier and his gang had stopped laughing and was now back to sneering at the three men in front of him.

"What makes you think that you three _bourgeois boys_ can take on all of us?" he questioned, looking at the three of them as if they'd just come out of the sewers.

"Well, unless you three fought on a barricade against the National Guard..." Grantaire smirked, "I'd say we've quite a bit more experience than you lot."

"You wish," Thénardier snarled.

"This lot could take you down easy!" Gavroche called out from behind the three Amis.

"Hush, Gavroche," Éponine said desperately, trying to keep her brother out of it.

"Well!" Thénardier exclaimed, "If it isn't my boy Gavroche!"

"I'm not your boy!" Gavroche said angrily, only staying put because Jehan was holding hi "You lost the right to call me that the first time you hit me. I ran away because you are a sorry excuse for a person and I hate you for what you've done to Éponine and Azelma."

"Big words for such a little boy," Thénardier scoffed, "Words you'll come to regret one day."

Éponine was slowly becoming more and more concerned for her daughters' safety. She didn't know what to do; Combeferre, Grantaire and Marius were only stalling her father and his gang, and there was no way any of them could fight them off when they were unarmed. Adding this to the fact that her father probably _did_ have a weapon, and Éponine was bordering on full-on panic.

Then a voice behind her made her fears melt away in an instant, "You make a lot of threats for a man too cowardly to go through with them yourself."

* * *

Courfeyrac dragged Enjolras through the streets of Paris until, finally, they reached the slums, which had become considerably smaller since the fight on the barricades. Enjolras didn't waste any time actually appreciating this fact, however, as Courfeyrac was climbing up the half-finished stone elephant that had once been Gavroche's home.

"What _are_ you doing?!" Enjolras demanding, "We do not have time for you to practice your climbing skills, Courfeyrac!"

"I'm retrieving your weapons, idiot!" his friend said, rolling his eyes, "Honestly, Enjolras, what do you take me for?!"

"You... you hid my weapons in _Gavroche's_ _elephant_?!" Enjolras exclaimed, "Of all the..."

"It was Gav's idea, not mine," Courf said grinning before lowering himself into the elephant. After half a minute his head popped back up again, "Catch!" he called down to Enjolras, who barely caught the shotgun Courfeyrac threw down. He also had to catch a bayonet (which very nearly pierced a hole in his hand) and two more shotguns.

"You have no idea how much I've missed having a weapon in my possession," Enjolras muttered as Courfeyrac passed down.

"Oh, I really do," Courf replied as Enjolras handed his a gun and the bayonet, "That was the only good part of the barricade. I'd like to think my shot's improved since then..."

"Only one way to find out," Enjolras said gravely, "I just hope we're not too late."

"We won't be," Courf reassured his friend, but the two sped up nonetheless.

Enjolras felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards Marius, Grantaire and Combeferre as he saw the three standing protectively in front of Éponine and the twins. He was almost surprised to see Cosette looking less frightened than Éponine (baring in mind that she was being faced with the man who made her childhood hell), but, looking at how she was protectively holding Elyse in her arms, Enjolras realised that this wasn't Cosette he was looking at. He was looking at Madame Pontmercy, who would rather die than let anything happen to her godchildren.

For the first time in his life, Enjolras and Courfeyrac were glad that their three friends were a few inches taller than them; it allowed them to sneak up behind them and catch Thénardier and the Patron-Minette by surprise.

They came within hearing distance just as Thénardier was snarling at Gavroche, "Big words for such a little boy. Words you'll come to regret one day." Enjolras had been with Éponine for long enough to realise that she was panicking.

"You make a lot of threats for a man too cowardly to go through with them yourself." Enjolras called out from behind his friends, causing them all to look around at him, Éponine with a look of pure relief on her face.

"You think you're so big and clever," Thénardier said, looking down at Enjolras with a look of pure disgust on his face, "But you're just a bourgeois boy. You don't know _anything_."

"That's rich, coming form you!" Enjolras scoffed, "Now, be on your way. In case you haven't notice, I'm armed, and _I_ actually know how to use my weapons."

"Are you saying I don't know how to use a gun?" Thénardier said.

"I'm saying you don't know how to use a gun effectively." Enjolras corrected him. Thénardier barely stopped himself from gaping before turning to his gang.

"Éponine, Cosette," Combeferre murmured, "Cover the twins' ears." Éponine nodded, and covered Evette's ears immediately, Cosette doing the same with Elyse.

"I think it's about time we taught this boy a lesson," he said smirking. To give him _some_ credit, Thénardier drew his weapon quickly and most definitely knew how to use it. Unluckily for him, by the time he almost had his gun in place, Enjolras had aimed his gun at his target and fired.

Thénardier collapsed, holding his foot in absolute agony as Combeferre used Enjolras' shot as a distraction to get the police.

"You absolute-" he was cut off by Enjolras' gun being aimed at him again.

"Think about your choice of words, monsieur," he said seriously, "I won't have you corrupting my daughters." Grimacing, Thénardier closed his mouth. Enjolras was so focused on the man that he didn't realise one of the other members of the Patron-Minette was aiming his gun at him.

Luckily for him, Courfeyrac _was_ a better shot than he had been two years ago, and fired his bullet straight into the gang member's hand. Enjolras, realising what situation he'd been in, nodded gratefully to Courfeyrac, keeping his gun trained on Thénardier.

By the time Combeferre returned with the police, the majority of Thénardier's gang had run off; Enjolras wasn't bothered about them. He knew that, as long as Thénardier was locked away, the Patron-Minette would cease to exist.

As Thénardier and the man who had tried to shoot Enjolras were taken away, a police officer questioned Enjolras about their mysteriously gained bullet wounds.

"I don't really understand it officer," Enjolras said, his voice so convincing that no one would ever doubt it, "It was like he didn't want to get away. One minute he was threatening to abduct my daughters, the next he was shooting himself in the foot! And then, when his friend here tried to shoot me, he shot his friend as well! Honestly, it was all very confusing." The officer was completely taken in by Enjolras' explanation, and apologised for the hassle they had suffered that day.

When the police officers had left and taken Thénardier with them (the later screaming obscenities at Enjolras), Éponine threw herself at her husband.

"What would I do without you?" she murmured in his ear, "That was incredible, Enjolras. Really, truly amazing. You... my father's going to prison! He's really, truly getting locked away!" Enjolras hugged Éponine tightly.

"I told you, 'Ponine," he replied, "No one is ever going to hurt you, or our little girls." As Éponine let go, she wrapped Gavroche in a hug before looking at him sternly.

"Don't you ever provoke him like that again, 'Vroche!" she said, "What if he hadn't been arrested? He'd have come after you!"

"He would have to go through me first," Courf said, laying a hand on Gavroche's shoulder, "It's all over, 'Ponine. I doubt your father will be out of prison before he's a hundred and fifty, the number of crimes he's committed over the years..."

"Mama!" Evette cried, wanting her mother's attention. Éponine immediately took her from Marius.

"It is over, isn't it?" she murmured, looking to Enjolras, who nodded, smiling.

"We'll never have to worry about your father again, 'Ponine," he told her, smiling as Cosette passed Elyse over to him, "This is certainly going to be a birthday the twins won't forget."

"How can they remember?" Gavroche questioned sceptically, "They're two!"

"They'll have their Uncle Gavroche to exaggerate all the facts and tell them the best story imaginable," Éponine said smiling, "And you'll tell them all about the day when their Papa was a hero and made the bad man go away forever."

"And they'll hear all about how Papa finally got his weapons back!" Enjolras said gleefully. The Amis all found this ridiculously hilarious.

"Where were they, anyway?" Éponine questioned.

"In my elephant!" Gavroche said, smiling proudly, "It was my idea!"

"All that time, and they were literally on our doorstep?" Éponine murmured to Enjolras as they all sat down to (try and) enjoy the rest of their picnic.

"I know," he muttered, "Embarrassing, isn't it?"

"I think it's hilarious," Éponine said giggling, "Did you get them all back?"

"Only the few we needed," Enjolras replied, "But don't worry: I'm going back later and getting the rest." Éponine smiled, taking a bite out of a pastry as Evette chewed half a grape.

They stayed at the park until the early hours of the evening, when the twins were starting to fall asleep. They packed everything up and walked back towards their respective apartments and houses, saying their goodbyes.

"Oh, and Enjolras," Courfeyrac grinned as he and Gavroche started walking in the direction of their flat, "If you think all of your weapons are in that elephant, you're wrong."

The look of horror on Enjolras' face was enough to keep Éponine and the rest of the Amis laughing for the rest of their lives. Or at least until Enjolras eventually got all of his weapons back.

* * *

**Et voila! Thénardier is finally locked away, Enjolras got his weapons back (well, some of them at least) and the twins are two years old! Throw me a review if you'd like to make my day (go on, you know you want to) and check out the Extended Edition if you haven't already! Typos are apologised for (it's late, and this chapter is quite long - no proof reading tonight, thank you!). I hope you enjoyed and thank you very much for reading!**

**P.S. here's a fun fact: 'Patron-Minette' actually means 'Pussycat Boss' in English. Go figure!**


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